Generally speaking, attorneys are just that, attorneys, they are not business people.I routinely see 'private lenders' doing 'Gap Funding' up to 100% of cost, or some other IMO risky lending. 

when you say you will let a short sale go , does that mean you would do the short sale and pay the credit cards, or visa versa I went from a 65k job to 22k of social security disability, which is my only income now.  

In my brokerage for example we routinely give back 1% of our commission.We have created a video that outlines 6 good reasons to use a realtor.  

They are routinely violating then remedying parts of the lease.

So working smoke detectors should be checked frequently because a renter may disable those.The blocked window is certainly the owner and PM'S fault.

What I don't want is pet urine seeping through or water in the bathroom form routine spills.

I have a policy in my lease that says criminal activity - regardless of where it took place - may be grounds for termination and a conviction is not necessary.Example: Tenant was caught with meth, fentanyl, and marijuana during a routine traffic stop.

I would not give up a good paying job to be a landlord if you are young, maybe if you are looking to retire early on pension, otherwise no.A job is a job, if you love it you might be happy for a long time but usually the excitement wares off any job and it becomes routine and humdrum.Personally I valued my regular job for the pay check and the pension.

Only if you decided to NOT keep this property, then and only then you ask the tax question.I love the point brought up by @John Woodrich which is routinely ignored when discussing the 1-yr hold: market risk.

Often the percentage will lower if you have multiple properties, so ask them if that's the case if you are thinking of doing more investing in this area- Maintenance costs | ask for an hourly rate for general maintenance, any routine maintenance that you should be aware of, and if they have an in-house maintenance team or if they use third party maintenance.